Bedwas High School
 | |
| Motto | Caring and Achieving - (Gofalu a Chyflawni) |
|---|---|
| Established | May 1962 |
| Type | Community comprehensive school |
| Headteacher | Mr P Ward[1] |
| Chair | Mr. Neil Bradley |
| Location |
Newport Road Bedwas Caerphilly CF83 8BJ Wales Coordinates: 51°35′35″N 3°09′50″W / 51.593°N 3.164°W |
| Local authority | Caerphilly County Borough Council |
| Students | 680[2] |
| Gender | Both |
| Ages | 11–19 |
| Houses |
3 (Rhymney-Green, Sirhowi-White and Ebwy-Red) |
| Colours | Navy Blue |
| Website |
www |
Bedwas High School, formerly known as Bedwas Comprehensive School, is a comprehensive school located east of the Welsh village of Bedwas, Caerphilly county borough, south Wales. It has a total enrollment of about 680 pupils ages 11 to 19.
Bedwas High School was inspected by Estyn, the office of Her Majesty's School Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, in 2007 and the school received a favorable report with five 2's and two 1's.[2]
In 2015-16 the school was ranked in the red support category by the Welsh categoristion system. This is the lowest of the 4 possible ratings. However, the school is on an improvement journey and is currently receiving additional funding from schools 'Challenge Cymru' to help raise standards.
There are approximately 680 pupils on roll including those in the sixth form. The school was officially opened in May 1962 (although pupils had been attending since the previous September) to relocate the Tyn-y-Wern Secondary School from Trethomas. Originally, the school was a community school in Monmouthshire County Council but when county boundaries were revised in 1973, it became one of 46 comprehensive schools in Mid Glamorgan.
As a result of local Government reorganisation in 1996, it became one of 16 comprehensive schools in Caerphilly County Borough. From September 2007, as the result of closure of two of the Secondary Schools in the Borough (Bedwellty in 2005 and St Ilan in 2007), it became one of 14 secondary schools.
The school serves the community to the east of the River Rhymney. This is made up of the villages of Bedwas, Trethomas, Graig-y-Rhacca and Machen. Bedwas high school has five feeder schools in the school's designated catchment area (including Plasyfelin from September 2007) but, in addition, approximately 10% of the pupils come to Bedwas high school from outside the catchment area.
Estyn report from April 2013
Copies of this report are available from the school and from the Estyn website www.estyn.gov.uk/english/provider/6764093
Context
Bedwas High School is an English-medium 11 to 18 mixed comprehensive school situated to the east of Caerphilly. The school serves the communities from the villages of Bedwas, Trethomas, Graig-y-Rhacca and Machen. The number of pupils has increased from 694 at the time of the last inspection to the current 752.Around 26% of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is higher than the national average of 17.4%, and 41% of pupils live in 20% most deprived areas of Wales.
The pupils entering the school represent the full range of ability and around 22% have a special educational need. This figure is higher than the national average of 18.6%. Around 3% of pupils have statements of special educational needs. This compares with 2.6% for Wales as a whole. A very few pupils receive support to learn English as an additional language and a very few pupils come from minority-ethnic backgrounds. A very small number of the pupils speak Welsh as their first language.The headteacher has been in post since September 2008. Following the retirement of the school’s deputy headteacher, the school appointed an acting deputy headteacher in September 2012.
Summary
The school’s current performance Awful
The school’s prospects for improvement Awful
Current performance
Good features of the school’s work include:
- recent improvements in performance in key stage 4;
- the secure knowledge and understanding gained by pupils, who develop appropriate skills in the majority of lessons;
- pupils’ well being, including behaviour, attendance, and the development of social and life skills;
- effective teaching in the majority of lessons; and
- a very caring and inclusive ethos.
However, current performance is judged to be adequate because:
- standards at key stage 4 are not consistently high enough;
- too many pupils do not make enough progress between key stages;
- in lessons, a minority of pupils do not make as much progress as they should; and
- a minority of teaching is not planned well enough to sufficiently challenge pupils.
Prospects for improvement
- The school’s prospects for improvement are judged to be adequate because:
- leadership has been effective in making recent improvement in performance at key stage 4;
- clear priorities that focus on raising standards have been established across all areas; and
- the leadership and support for pupils well being are good.
However:
- the impact of agreed action plans has not ensured enough improvement in teaching, learning and outcomes;
- leaders set targets that are too low to drive improvement;
- the majority of senior and middle leaders do not monitor rigorously enough; and
- governors do not hold the school to account enough for its performance
The inspection team
Robert Davies Reporting Inspector
Nigel Vaughan Team Inspector
Gwyn Thomas Team Inspector
Peter Harris Team Inspector
Rhiannon Boardman Lay Inspector
Susan Gwyer-Roberts Peer Inspector
Mr T Stancombe School Nominee
References
- ↑ Bedwas Comprehensive School. Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- 1 2 Inspection Reports - Bedwas High School (PDF). Estyn (March 2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-21.